Shag Island is a low island located at the mouth of
Fisherman Bay
Lopez Island is the third largest of the San Juan Islands and an unincorporated town in San Juan County, Washington, United States. Lopez Island is in land area. The 2000 census population was 2,177, though the population swells in the summer, ...
in
Spencer Gulf,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. It is approximately 22 ha (54 acres) in size with a peak elevation of approximately 4 metres (13 feet). It is uninhabited by humans but is home to thousands of
cormorants
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...
which roost and breed there. It is also an important nursery-ground for fish. In April 2013, the discovery of several sick and dead cormorants near Fisherman Bay raised public concerns for the health of the Shag Island colony. The discovery coincided with significant fish and dolphin mortality events around the state, mostly concentrated in
Spencer Gulf and
Gulf St. Vincent.
Wildlife
The following birds have been recorded at Shag Island:
great cormorant
The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...
,
little black cormorant,
pied cormorant,
little pied cormorant
The little pied cormorant, little shag or kawaupaka (''Microcarbo melanoleucos'') is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapo ...
,
red-necked stint
The red-necked stint (''Calidris ruficollis'') is a small migratory wader. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''ruficollis'' is from ...
,
sharp-tailed sandpiper
The sharp-tailed sandpiper (''Calidris acuminata'') (but see below) is a small wader.
Taxonomy
A review of data has indicated that this bird should perhaps better be placed into the genus ''Philomachus''
– as ''P. acuminatus'' – which now ...
,
red-capped plover
The red-capped plover (''Charadrius ruficapillus''), also known as the red-capped dotterel, is a small species of plover.
It breeds in Australia. This species is closely related to (and sometimes considered conspecific with) the Kentish plover, ...
,
banded stilt
The banded stilt (''Cladorhynchus leucocephalus'') is a nomadic wader of the stilt and avocet family, Recurvirostridae, native to Australia. It belongs to the monotypic genus ''Cladorhynchus''. It gets its name from the red-brown breast band fo ...
,
bar-tailed godwit
The bar-tailed godwit (''Limosa lapponica'') is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, ...
,
grey plover
The grey plover or black-bellied plover (''Pluvialis squatarola'') is a large plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding.
Taxonomy
The grey plover was forma ...
,
common greenshank
The common greenshank (''Tringa nebularia'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek ''trungas'' ...
and
masked lapwing.
Explore Your Area > Shag Island
''Atlas of Living Australia''. Accessed 2014-01-18.
References
{{Islands of South Australia , state=collapsed
Islands of South Australia
Spencer Gulf
Seabird colonies
Uninhabited islands of Australia